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Design Studio as Signature Pedagogy

Design Studio: both a physical space (an actual place) and the mode of engagement (pedagogical strategy). a third definition assigns studio the meaning of the place of work activity as in the artist’s studio. it is this particular aspect the educational studio attempts to replicate.

Signature Pedagogies: the best teaching ideas that are most likely to be developed in very specific subject matter contexts (Laurillard) or ubiquitous forms of teaching and learning, which are associated with particular professions (Shulman). Shulman (2005) also identifies three further dimensions that characterize a signature pedagogy:

a surface structure of operational acts of teaching and learning

a deep structure of assumptions about how best to impart knowledge and skills and

an implicit structure as a set of beliefs, values, and attitudes (=hidden curriculum)

For the architecture Design Studio Signature Pedagogy is expressed through:

uncertainty: DS is an environment of unpredictability

public student performance: a social environment in which students are expected to present their work

lack of a front to the classroom

experimentation

collaboration

practicing of skills: especially communicating through imagery

focus on an artifact

dialogue: as in the desk crit (private) or the final crit (public)

instruction: teacher modes of delivery and presentation

crtique: a quintessential character of the signature pedagogy of the studio

References

Crowther, Ph., 2013, ‘Understanding the signature pedagogy of the design studio and the opportunities for its technological enhancement’, in Journal of Learning Design, Vol. 6, No 3, pp. 18-28